Hydrant gate-valve



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HYDRANT GATE VALVE. No. 373,523. Patented Nov. 22, 1887.

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HYDRANT GATE VALVE.

Patented Now 22, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JASON GILES, OF INDIAN ORCHARD, MASSACHUSETTS.

HYDRANT GATE-VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,523, dated November22, 1887.

Application filed February 28, 1887. Serial No. 229,090.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JASON Guns, of Indian Orchard, in the county ofHampden and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Gate-Valves for Hydrants, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part thereof.

Heretofore in hydrant gate-valves the contacting faces of the valve-seatand the gate or plug have been composed of various metallicsubstances,that known as Babbitt metal having been extensively employed.While these metallic bearing-surfaces secure good results during theearly period of their use, it is found that when they become worn by thefriction incident to opening and closing the gate they cease to form atight joint, and it then becomes necessary to renew the contactingfaces. Again, it is found that the gravel and other gritty mattercontained in the water as it comes from the street-main lodges betweenthe opposing faces of the valve-seat and the gate when the latter isshut down, or settles at the bottom of the shell and obstructs thedescent of the gate, in either case causing more or less fracture orindentation to the bearing-surface of the gate; and as the metalpossesses no recuperative properties these fractures and indentationsconstitute a permanent injury, which can be remedied only by providing anew bearing-surface for the gate, or a new gate itself. 1 have foundthat these objections can be obviated by providing the gate with abearing-face composed of a continuous annular ring of wood seated in anundercut annular groove in the face of the gate adjacent to thevalve-seat, and projecting beyond said face in such manner as, with theannular metallic valve-seat, to make a tight joint. The inherentrecuperative properties of wood render it much less liable to bepermanently injured by the gritty sediment in the water, and the initialcost thereof, as well as the cost of renewal, is trifling as comparedwith the metallic faces heretofore employed. As it requires great careto cut-both faces of these wooden rings exactly true, I prefer to mountthem upon a disk, and to secure the disk to the gate by means of auniversal joint, so that if (Model) the front and rear faces of the ringshould not be parallel throughout, the self-adjustment of the disk willstill insure a tightjoint between it and the valve-seat.

My invention, therefore, consists in a hydrant gate-valve having itsbearing-surface composed of a continuous ring of wood seated in anundercut groove, either in the face of the gate itself or in the face ofa disk secured to the gate by means of a universal joint.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts inthe several figures, Figure 1 is a View, partly in section, of so muchof a hydrant as is necessary to show the application of my invention tothe ordinary gatevalve thereof. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section ofthe gate or plug. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gate. Fig. 4 is a centralvertical section of a hydrant gate-valve having my invention appliedthereto by means of a disk and universal joint.

The letterA designates the shell, B the water-way or connection with thestreet-main, O the stand-pipe, D the post, E F the frostcase, H thegate, and I J the spindle, of a gatehydrant, well known as the Chapmanfirehydrant, the continuation of the post above the ground-surface, G,being omitted. In these hydrants the gate has a tapering face, 0, and atapering wing, K, upon the back, which, in connection with the taperingvalve-seat Q and way L, act as a wedge to force the gate to its seat inclosing. The gateis also provided with guides at the sides, consistingof the splines N on the shell, which project into grooves M and S in thegate, the groove S also containing a gib, T, pressed outward by springs(not shown) to insure an easy movement of the gate and prevent binding.

It has been customary heretofore to make the contacting faces of thegate and shell (lettered O and Q, respectively) from Babbitt metal andother metallic compositions, to the end that when closed a tight jointmay be secured.

I As hereinbefore stated, the broader feature of my invention consistsin providing the gate with a bearing-surface of wood in the form of acontinuous annular ring, and in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 this wooden ring(designated by the letter P) is shown as being seated within a grooveundercut in the face of'the gate itself. The groove is undercut toprevent accidental displacement of the ring, and the latter is forcedinto the groove under pressure, its expansive properties causing itsedges to occupy the undercut portions, as shown in Fig. 2. The ring P ismade continuous and not in segments, because the unequal contraction andexpansion of the various segments would be .liable to leave more or lessopen space between their meeting ends, and thus impair the tightness ofthe joint made with the valve-seat, whereas a continuous ring obviatesall danger from such source.

The amount of pressure exerted against a hydrant-valve by the water inthe main is so great that the valve must have a compact and very strongstructure in order ,to resist it, and the ring P, made continuous andseated as described, fully meets this requirement. ring is preferablycut transversely of the grain of the wood, as shown, in order to takefull advantage of the well-known property existing in wood of recoveringitself from indentation and abrasion of its surface in the direction ofits grain. Should it become necessary to renew the bearing-surface, theold ring can be quickly and easily removed from the groove with a chiselor other tool, and a new ring inserted, which, it will be observed, is asimple operation, compared with the necessity existing heretofore ofplaning off or otherwise removing the metallic face and renewing it bycasting, welding, or other expensive process.

By the practice of my invention as thus far described I am enabled tosecure a tighter joint than has heretofore been possible with opposingmetallic faces, I provide the gate with a face which, if fractured orindented by contact with gritty matter in the water,will

recover itself, instead of being permanently injured, and I provide aface the initial cost of which, aswell as the cost of renewal is tri- Ifling as compared with the metallic faces heretofore employed.

Turning, now, to the preferred form of my invention illustrated in Fig.4, the wooden ring P, instead of being seated within the face of thegate itself, is seated within the undercut groove in the face of a disk,0, and the said disk is secured to the gate by a universal joint. Iprefer this manner of mounting the ring, for the reason that the selfadjusting properties of the disk cause the ring to always make atightjoint with the seat Q, but more especially because it may benecessaryto insert a new ring in the valve when the requisite machineryor tools for making its front and rear faces exactly parallel are not athand, and by means of the disk and universal joint any slightinequalities in the two sides are prevented from impairing the tightnessof the 'oint. J The means shown in'Fig. 4 for securing the disk to thegate consist of a bolt, X, having its outer end secured to the rear sideof the disk,and having at its inner end abalLshaped head, which, beinginserted within a lateral opening,Y, in the gate, is retained therein bya gland, W, screwed'into the mouth of said opening, said gland having acup-shaped inner end, which serves as a socket to receive the head ofthe bolt, thus securing a free universal movement to the disk. The faceof the gate and rear side of the disk are provided with correspondingconcave-convex bearingsurfaces, the area of which is but slightly lessthan that of the face of the gate to afiord an extended resistingsurfaceto pressure exerted against the face of the disk by the water, and thusobviate all liability of such pressure to impair the successfuloperation of the universal joint. A check-screw, Z, passing through thedisk into a recess, d, in the gate prevents accidental rotation of thedisk upon the bolt X. Y

As this means of securing the disk to the gate forms the subject of aseparate application filed by me November 16, 1886, serially numbered219,328, it need not be more particularly described herein. It will beunder stood that, so far as the invention claimed herein isconcerned,any means for universally mounting the disk upon the gatecould be substituted for those shown in Fig. 4 without departing fromthe spirit thereof. The face Q of the valve maybe constructed, as heretofore,-from any suitable metallic substance; and in two-way valves havingdouble'seats and double-faced gates my invention will be applied to bothfaces thereof in the same manner as hereinbefore described withreference to a single face. By subjecting the ring P to any of thecommon wood-preserving processes its durability may be enhanced; but theremoval of an old'and insertion of a new ring is such lar constructions;but I believe myself to bethe first to discover that its peculiarrecuperative properties render it particularly applicable to hydrantgate valves where the gritty sediment in the water is forced into directcontact with the face of the gate, as Ialso believe myself to be thefirst to devise a practical means for utilizing it in such a valve.

Having thus fully described my invention, whatI claim is- 1. In ahydrant gate-valve, the combina- 'tion,with the shell having an annularmetallic valve-seat, of a gate having upon the side adjacent to saidseat a bearing-surface consisting of a continuous ring of wood seatedwithin an annular undercut groove and projectingbeyond the side of thegate, substantially as set forth.

2. In a hydrant gatevalve, the combinagroove and projecting beyond theface of the tion,with the shell having an annular metallic disk,arranged and operating substantially as valve-seat,of a gate havingsecured to its side, and for the purpose set forth.

adjacent to said seat, by means of a universal JASON GILES. 5 joint, avalve-disk, said disk having in its Witnesses:

outer face an annular undercut groove, and a W. H. CHAPMAN,

continuous ring of wood seated within said T. M. BROWN.

